An ambitious project that aims to put boots on Mars in 10 years may have fallen short of the expected number of Martian wannabes, but there is no shortage of Canadians willing to live on the red planet — and die there.

With the Aug. 31 deadline almost here, nearly 7,000 Canucks have applied to join Mars One — a $6-billion project that plans to establish a permanent human colony on Mars by 2023.

Having my life mean something, for me, is just so important

They are among more than 165,000 applicants from 140 countries who have paid an application fee ranging between $5 and $75, depending on the country, in hopes of being selected for the one-way trip.

“My entire life I have always wanted to be a part of something that really makes a huge difference,” the 26-year-old said in an interview.

“Having my life mean something, for me, is just so important and this is the ultimate expression of that.”

Mars One — the brainchild of Dutch entrepreneur Bas Landorp — says the first four settlers would be followed by more groups, every two years.

EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty ImagesMars One CEO Bas Lansdorp, left, holds a press conference to announce the launch of astronaut selection for a Mars space mission project, in New York, April 22, 2013. Mars One is a non-profit organization that aims to establish a permanent human settlement on Mars through the integration of existing, readily available technology that can be purchased from the global private space industry.

If the project ever makes it off planet Earth — and many are skeptical it will — it won’t be without risks.

Organizers say there could be an accident during launch, vital components could malfunction during the journey, a number of issues might arise when entering the Mars atmosphere and there could be problems during landing.

I don’t know where he will be ten years form now, maybe he will change his mind

Connor Martz, 19, thought about the risks, but they did not stop him from applying to join what some have called a suicide mission.

“That part scares me, obviously, never being able to come back or see my family and dying there,” he said from his home in Waterloo, Ont.

“I think the good outweighs the bad in this case because you have the opportunity to advance mankind in its exploration and colonization of other planets.”

THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Geoff RobinsConnor Martz, 19, shows his mother Linda Cunningham-Martz the Mars One website at their house in Waterloo Ontario, Thursday, August 29, 2013. Connor is one of the candidates applying for the Mars One one-way trip to Mars.

His mother, Linda Martz, said she is concerned about the no-return aspect of the mission, but hopes her son will grow out of the idea.

“We are talking ten years from now so he will be 29,” she said. “Things change, I don’t know where he will be ten years form now, maybe he will change his mind.”

For now, Connor is getting ready to start first year of university in September to study physics. He said he’s been hitting the gym to build up body mass, which could prove vital on a long space voyage.

“Every kid wants to be an astronaut at some point and I guess that is where I started,” he said.

The application videos, some of which are posted on the Mars One website, range from the wildly absurd to the surprisingly sincere.

One Canadian applicant — identified only as Madison, 27 — posted a video talking about what drew her to the program.

“A year ago my younger sister died and with that of course came a bunch of questions about why are we here? What is the meaning of all this and what is the purpose in life?” said Madison.

“When I read about this Mars One program I thought: ‘Wow, here is my chance to find some sort of closure or purpose or meaning in space,’ so I couldn’t not apply.”

Another Canadian applicant — known only as Collin, 26, — chose to show off his rhyming chops in his video, submitting a full poem, which included these verses:

“I am a scientist, adventurer, wizard and explorer/Philosopher, technician and confidant ninja warrior/My brain is sane enough to sustain itself on such a lengthy trip/I will bond in trust and faith with fellow astronauts on the ship.”

Kenneth Flack, 53, from Pointe-Fortune, Que., said he wanted to join the mission because he’s convinced the Earth “will eventually be destroyed and consumed by the sun.”

“We have to colonize the rest of the solar system, and the galaxy for that matter, for us to have long-term longevity,” he said in an interview.

Flack also argues about the need for “old” and “fat” astronauts on his application video, in an effort, he admits, to attract more views.

Mars One had hoped to attract up to a million people from around the world when it first launched the application process in April. After the Aug. 31 deadline, the group will decide who goes on to the next round of the selection process.

We have to colonize the rest of the solar system, and the galaxy

The world will likely get to know some of the applicants in an expected television show that will document the selection and training of the final four-member crew.

Paul Romer, co-creator of the popular “Big Brother” reality television show was made a Mars One ambassador in April 2012. He will likely be instrumental in the creation of a television program that will go towards funding the Mars mission.

But Lansdorp, the group’s CEO, said that doesn’t mean that a Mars One show will necessarily be a reality TV show.

AFP PHOTO / ESAWant to live on Mars and never come back to Earth?

“The mission to Mars is one of the most exciting and inspirational stories of all time and we do want to share that with our audience, but more in the way that the moon landing is shared with our audience or the Olympics,” he said.

However, many of the contestants know that being popular on television may help them advance through the selection rounds.

“I don’t think it (the Mars One show) will be like ”Jersey Shore“ or ”Survivor“ or ”Big Brother“, said Andrew Rader, 34, from Ottawa, who was among the first Canadians to apply. ”It’s more like the Discovery Channel.“

THE CANADIAN PRESS/HOAndrew Rader, has always wanted to be an astronaut and he's ready to do anything to get into space - even take a risky one-way trip to Mars and spend the rest of his life there. The Ottawa native, who is 34, is one of the nearly 7,000 Canadians who have applied for the Mars One mission to the red planet in 2023.

The spacecraft systems engineer — who recently won Discovery Channel’s competitive reality TV show “Canada’s Greatest Know-it-All’ — hopes his communication skills will help him in the race for a spot on the Mars shuttle.

Rader also thinks the media-centric independent funding model of the Mars One venture is superior to the traditional government funding for space exploration.

“I’m a bit of a libertarian and I think space needs to pay for itself, and if a private company can do things more inexpensively and if it can bring in sources of revenues without taxpayers dollars then I’m all for it,” said Rader.

MONTREAL — Andrew Rader has always wanted to be an astronaut and he’s ready to do anything to get into space — even spend the rest of his life on Mars.

The Ottawa native is one of at least 35 Canadians to apply for a mission to the Red Planet in 2023.

The Mars One project, the brainchild of Dutch entrepreneur Bas Landorp, plans to send a few willing pioneers on a one-way trip, with no chance of returning to Earth. The $6-billion project will use existing technology and be funded through sponsors and private investors.

Two weeks after the call for applicants went out, about 80,000 people from 120 countries have already responded in the hope of becoming one of the first four Martian settlers.

The Canadian applicants range in age from 18 to 47, with the majority of them in their 20s. While most are men, as of Thursday at least four Canadian women have applied.

Rader, 34, had already applied to become a member of the Canadian astronaut corps in 2009 but he wasn’t chosen.

“I’ve always wanted to work in space and to be an astronaut is really my ultimate goal,” he said.

Rader has discussed his far-out plan with his parents, and brother and sister, whom he said are supportive. Not everyone is thrilled with the idea, though. He said his aunt considers the idea a “suicide mission.”

“There are enormous risks. That being said, I think that the risks are worth taking. I mean, major leaps required major risks,” he said.

“Life is short, life is precious and that’s why you really should do major things that you believe in.”

Rader admitted that he views the project as a “very, very long shot.”

“The chances if it actually getting carried out as stated are extraordinarily slim,” he said. “(But) I think there is a very small chance that if all the dominoes fall in the right place, it could happen.”

The modules that would be used to create a habitat, with the help of robots, would be sent up first. Eventually, the first settlers would arrive following a seven-month trip.

On its website, the non-profit Mars One group says the first four settlers would be followed by more groups, every two years. At first, the home base would be limited to provisions, oxygen and water, but would expand to everything the settlers might need, including solar panels.

Mars One says primary funding will come from an as-yet-unspecified “global media event” that will feature the astronauts and their preparation. One organizer bristled at the comparison to reality TV, and said she preferred to call it an educational project.

A veteran space scientist at York University has his doubts, but says the mission is thought-provoking.

On one hand, you could be talking about this as a great mission, with great discoveries, expanding mankind and so on

“On one hand, you could be talking about this as a great mission, with great discoveries, expanding mankind and so on,” Gordon Shepherd said in an interview.

“On the other extreme, you could say it’s just reality TV and it’s people paying to see people die.”

Shepherd said proposing to do things that have never been done before — in just 10 years — is not feasible.

“I would say it’s going to take more time, more thought,” he said, suggesting a more realistic timetable would be 25 years.

“This idea that we have to do it in 10 years, and as a consequence people are going to end their lives there, to me it’s a bit bizarre,” Shepherd said.

Shepherd said anyone considering the trip has to answer some deeply personal questions: “What’s the meaning of life — what’s the meaning of my life?… That’s a tough one and I think they have to understand that fully before doing it.”

Shepherd, 81, whose science career has spanned 50 years, also questioned the ethics of what’s being proposed.

“To persuade people to do things that they will later regret and can’t be undone, (and) messing with people’s lives like that, it’s not ethical,” he said.

But Raye Kass of Montreal’s Concordia University, says it’s not about persuading people to make the one-way trip.

The human-sciences professor, an adviser to the Mars One mission, put together the criteria for the selection process.

“I would disassociate myself completely with anything connected with persuasion,” said Kass, 75, who has worked with space agencies including NASA in the past.

“There wouldn’t be any persuasion — in fact, there would be a lot of people we would dissuade.”

Kass will also be involved in the actual selection with an international team, as well as in the training of the Mars settlers.

She said five characteristics will be considered when judging applicants: resiliency, adaptability, curiosity, the ability to trust, and creativity or resourcefulness.

We’re looking at a person who is willing to build and maintain healthy relationships because, after all, they’re going to be developing a colony together… Unless they are able to work together and be together they will not be able to survive at all

“The key factor related to all these qualities is attitude,” she said. “That’s probably the foundation.

“We’re looking at a person who is willing to build and maintain healthy relationships because, after all, they’re going to be developing a colony together… Unless they are able to work together and be together they will not be able to survive at all.”

When asked if the one-way trip could be a suicide mission, Kass pointed to the manned moon landings.

“People thought it would be totally suicidal and would never happen and it did — so my hunch is (Mars One) will take place,” she said.

“But will it take place in 2023? I don’t know; that’s what’s being aimed for.”

The project organizers hope to receive 500,000 applications by the Aug. 31 deadline.

Kass believes it is possible to send humans to Mars, but the bigger challenge is once they arrive there.

“I don’t know if they can get over the possibility that they may never, ever see their families again,” she said. “I think that’s why a sense of purpose, as to why they’re doing this, begins to be extremely important.”

Kass admitted that she often wanted to be an astronaut, but had no interest in travelling to Mars.

“Because I love life too much and what’s happening here in this world, I feel I can make a tremendous difference in what I’m doing,” she said.

“Going to Mars, no. Trying to do the best for those who wish to go, yes.”